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Vulture
Adrian Toomes is an amnesiac teenage boy and former member of the Thunderbolts. Adrian's past is shrouded in mystery, as he was left with amnesia after being experimented on by Doctor Octopus. As a result of Ock's cross-species experiments, Adrian was mutated into a humanoid vulture creature with superhuman abilities. He is referred to as the "Vulture" by New York City's media, which Adrian later takes as his alias. After Adrian is cured from his mutation, he regains his memories and enrolls in S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy to learn how to become a superhero.Ultimate Spider-Man Season 4, Episode 26 - "Graduation Day - Part 2" History Past Much of Adrian's past is unknown. At some point in time, Adrian was a "teenager down on his luck" and taken in by Doctor Octopus to be used as a test subject for the latter's cross-species experiments in exchange for money alongside other teens. Adrian's DNA was merged with vulture DNA, and his memories were erased to make room for mental programming, resulting in his amnesia. After Ock was arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D., Adrian spent months in suspended animation in an abandoned Oscorp building that Ock used as a hidden laboratory. Upon his reawakening, his only clue to his past was a small plaque containing the Oscorp logo. Wanting to know about his past and who mutated him, Adrian makes the abandon building his lair and scavenges for information about himself by stealing from other criminals in the streets and looking at photographs of families. Although he had never hurt anyone, his infamy caused him to be label as a dangerous criminal known as the "Vulture", a moniker given to him by the media. Meeting Spider-Man During one of his nightly heists, Adrian catches a criminal stealing a briefcase and is spotted by Spider-Man, who is sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to bring him in for his criminal activities. Adrian snatches the briefcase and drops the thief, leaving Spider-Man to save the thief while Adrian goes back to his hideout. Reverting back to his human form, Adrian goes to sleep in his stasis chamber, but is awakened by Spider-Man, who tracked him down to his lair. Dazed and anxious, Adrian transforms into his vulture state and scuffles with Spider-Man briefly before the latter blinds him with a bright light and webs Adrian against the wall. Adrian and Spider-Man trades questions, telling the latter to address him as "Vulture" since he is unable to recall his real name or anything about his past. As Spider-Man tries to assure him that his memories will come back, Adrian has another bout of anxiety and frees himself from the webbing. Spotting an Oscorp logo plaque, Adrian flies to Oscorp to search for answers and evades Spider-Man's attempts to stop him. Unbeknownst to Adrian, once Spider-Man had left his hideout to chase after him, Taskmaster, who has been following Spider-Man, discovers a secret computer in the wall containing Adrian's personal files, steals the data, and then destroys the computer. At Oscorp, Adrian crashes into Norman Osborn's office to find Spider-Man and Harry Osborn there. Mistaking Harry for his father, Adrian attacks him, prompting them to explain who Harry is and that his father isn't in the building. Angry, Adrian abducts Harry and hangs him from a flagpole, demanding to know where Norman is. When Spider-Man arrives to their location, Adrian threatens to kill Harry, but Spider-Man appeals to his morality and informs him that Ock is responsible for what happened to him, whom Adrian has vague recollection of. After Spider-Man promises to help him, Adrian hands Harry over to him and confides in Spider-Man that he is afraid to discover what kind person he was in the past. Spider-Man comforts him, saying Adrian can atone for any mistakes and that he vows to help him along the way. Spider-Man takes Adrian to Ock's prison at the Tricarrier to meet Ock and find answers about himself. Ock tries bargain for his freedom, but Adrian rejects his deal. Ock mockingly tells Adrian that he once made a deal with him long ago and he wiped Adrian's memory to make room for mental programming to turn Adrian into a mindless destroyer. Using the code word "Carrion Feeder", Adrian loses control, turns into his vulture form, and attacks Spider-Man. Although he is temporary subdued, Ock uses the code word again and orders Adrian to free him. Adrian takes Ock back to his hideout and ambushes Spider-Man once he arrives, engaging him in a short aerial battle until Adrian pins him to the against the building. Spider-Man reaches out to Adrian, reminding him the Ock is his real enemy. Regaining his free will, Adrian attacks Ock viciously enough to frighten him and direct Adrian to look at his secret computer, only to find the damage Taskmaster left behind. Seeing no reason to keep Ock alive, Adrian prepares to kill him, but Spider-Man convinces to spare him to prevent Adrian from becoming a villain like Ock. While S.H.I.E.L.D. agents apprehend Ock, Adrian and Spider-Man watch the sunrise as the latter offers Adrian to join the New Warriors. However, Adrian declines in favor searching for more information about his past, though Spider-Man still gives him a S.H.I.E.L.D. card should he ever change his mind. Adrian expresses his gratitude to Spider-Man before flying off. Shortly thereafter, he hears Taskmaster calling out to him with his real name and accepts the latter's offer to work for him in exchange for information about his past. The Thunderbolts Together with Cloak and Dagger, Adrian trains with Taskmaster as a member of the Thunderbolts to free his employer, the Green Goblin, from his S.H.I.E.L.D. imprisonment. Executing their plans, Cloak teleports the Thunderbolts onto the Tricarrier and attacks Spider-Man and his friends. While Cloak and Dagger fight Spider-Man, Adrian easily take on Iron Spider, Agent Venom, Ka-Zar, and Zabu. The Thunderbolts successfully separate half of the New Warriors and put the base on lockdown to trapped the heroes while Cloak teleports Adrian and the others to the door of prison cells. Adrian uses his sonic screech to short out the electrical power in the area. When Spider-Man and the New Warriors arrive, the Thunderbolts use a barrage of missiles to destroy the barricaded doors and liberate all of the prisoners. Seeing Ock among the prisoners, Adrian moves to confront him, but Taskmaster instructs him to wait to get his payback, much to his annoyance. The Thunderbolts and Green Goblin then head to the armory to retrieve the Siege Perilous. Outside the Tricarrier, they see Ock, Beetle, and Scorpion escape in a Quinjet. Taskmaster allows Adrian to exact revenge on Ock by causing the Quinjet to crash back onto the Tricarrier as diversion. Before damaging one of the Quinjet's wings, Adrian tells Ock that this act makes them "even" for all the things he did to him. In another battle against the New Warriors, Cloak gets stuck on the propellers and Taskmaster abandons Dagger, leaving Adrian to accompany Taskmaster and Green Goblin to the armory. Spider-Man follows and attempts to launch missiles to stop them, but Adrian uses his sonic screech to make them detonate before they hit. However, the resulting explosion knocks Adrian back against the wall and renders him unconscious for a short time. Once he awakens, Spider-Man lets Adrian escape, who then flies off to parts unknown.Ultimate Spider-Man Season 3, Episode 8 - "New Warriors" Contest of Champions When New York City is used as the battle arena for the "Contest of Champions" game between the Collector and the Grandmaster, Adrian is one of the many citizens that was captured by Grandmaster and put in a stasis pod as a hostage to force the other heroes and villains fight each other.Ultimate Spider-Man Season 3, Episode 23 - "Contest of Champions (Part 1)" After Spider-Man foils the Grandmaster's scheme, Adrian and the other hostages are freed and transported back to Earth.Ultimate Spider-Man Season 3, Episode 25 - "Contest of Champions (Part 3)"Ultimate Spider-Man Season 3, Episode 26 - "Contest of Champions (Part 4)" Affiliation with Doctor Octopus Sometime later, Adrian strikes a bargain with Ock: Ock helps him regain his memories if he kills Norman Osborn. Despite his reluctance, Adrian agrees and is equipped with special Hydra armor for the mission. At night, Adrian attacks Oscorp, paying no heed to Harry, Spider-Man (as Peter Parker), and Miles Morales, who are caught in the crossfire. After taking out of building's defenses, Adrian chases after the runaway teenagers and tries to kill them, though he apologizes to them, as he truly does not wish to follow through Ock's assassination order. Norman, donned in his Iron Patriot armor, intervenes and battles Adrian, but Adrian gains the advantage as his Hydra armor is specifically designed to combat the former's armor. While Adrian tells Norman he takes no pleasure in hurting him, Miles (now in his Spider-Man costume) arrives to help and kicks Adrian aside. A small banter occurs between the two, with Miles asking Adrian's opinion of a bad code name and the latter responding with a dry retort before charging at him. Once Spider-Man arrives, he questions Adrian's reason for allying himself with Ock despite Adrian's hatred for the mad scientist. Despite claiming he has "darkness" in him, Adrian explains he does not enjoy taking a life and his deal with Ock, refusing to believe Spider-Man or S.H.I.E.L.D. can help him. As Spider-Man tries to persuade him, Norman lands a surprise attack on Adrian, causing him to crash through the floor. Realizing he is outnumbered, Adrian signals for Ock to his location for back-up, who then snidely motivates Adrian to get up by informing him that his past in store in Oscorp's computer files. He uses his sonic scream to blast heavy debris at his opponents, pinning Spider-Man down and goes to finish him off, promising to make kill him quickly and painlessly. However, Harry, in the American Son armor, draws his attention away from Spider-Man long enough for him to free himself. As Ock summons an Octobot to aid them, Adrian focuses his attention on Norman and tears his armor apart, pulling his helmet off before Harry reengages him. After being overwhelmed and pushed to the ground, Adrian takes time to use the Iron Patriot's helmet to find his data records, but found nothing in the Oscorp's files or Ock's files. Enraged that Ock failed to keep his word, Adrian attacks him and demands to know where his files are. Ock lies that Norman must have deleted them, giving more reason for Adrian to kill him, but Spider-Man convinces Adrian not to believe Ock, since he knew deep down Norman never had files on him. Wanting to keep Adrian as a weapon and potential recruit for his Sinister Six, Ock utilizes his nano-Octobots to take control of his armor, changing its color from green to black-and-red and placing him under Ock's control. Ock commands him to destroy Spider-Man, causing Adrian to tackle Spider-Man to the wall, though he tries to fight against the nanites. After Miles saves Spider-Man and Ock is knocked out, the struggling Adrian informs Spider-Man that Ock has a spy (Scarlet Spider) in S.H.I.E.L.D. before his loses his free will. When Spider-man inquires if the spy is a agent or a student, Adrian is only able to brokenly muttered out, "Not. A Spider..." before taking off into the sky.Ultimate Spider-Man Season 4, Episode 4 - "Iron Vulture" However, Spider-Man misinterprets Adrian's message to mean "Not a Spider", thus clearing Scarlet Spider of any suspicion.Ultimate Spider-Man Season 4, Episode 5 - "Lizards" Helping Sandman Following this event, Adrian mindlessly and aimlessly wanders around New York City. Eventually, Spider-Man and the Web-Warriors begin searching for him before Ock could find him and make him a unwilling member for his new Sinister Six. While Spider-Man and Iron Spider are arguing about how to handle him, Adrian flies right past them and lands at another building. Still considering him a friend, Spider-Man attempts to reach out to him and encourages him to fight against the nanites, but Iron Spider ruins it by attacking him, as he views Adrian as nothing but a vicious monster. Adrian grabs Spider-Man with his feet talons and carries him off into the air, engaging Iron Spider in a mid-air brawl as Spider-Man continues his attempts to talk to him. Afterwards, Adrian leaves the heroes on a island, where it is revealed to harbor one of Ock's secret labs and an imprisoned Sandman. After freeing Sandman from Ock's control, Spider-Man and Iron Spider speculate that Adrian purposely led them to the island to rescue Sandman, indicating that Adrain retains some of his free will in spite of Ock's control over him. Regaining Freedom Adrian is eventually found by Ock and forced to join his "Superior Sinister Six", taking part of his grand plan to eliminate Spider-Man and all the New York superheroes. On the day of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy graduation, Ock lures Spider-Man and his friends into action and stations Adrian and Kraven the Hunter at the docks. They fight against Spider-Man, Cloak, Dagger, Squirrel Girl, and Triton. Squirrel Girl uses her squirrels to subdue him, giving Spider-Man the opportunity to web Vulture to the ground. As Adrian mindlessly struggles against the webbing, Spider-Man pledges to help cure him before leaving the rest of group to take him and Kraven into S.H.I.E.L.D custody. As they were instructed to lose on purpose, Adrian and Kraven fulfill Ock's plans to be taken to S.H.I.E.L.D. and is promptly placed in a cell. When Spider-Man and his aunt, May Parker, are walking past the prison, Adrian is freed from his cell by Ock and listlessly watch as Ock forced Spider-Man to inject himself with de-powering serum that stripped him of powers and unmasked him.Ultimate Spider-Man Season 4, Episode 25 - "Graduation Day - Part 1" Once Ock finalize his plans to kill at the heroes at the Triskelion, Adrian takes to the sky as the rest watch as Ock's contracting force field is about to kill everyone in the dome. He engages the powerless Spider-Man in the air, but is webbed to a building, though not before destroying his jet-pack. After he recovers, Adrian goes to Oscorp, where Ock attempts to kill Norman again, and arrives just as Spider-man regains his powers. Using Ock's antidote darts, Spider-Man injects some into Adrian, curing him of his mutation and dismantling his Hydra armor. Finally free of his mind control, Adrian happily notes that the loss of his mutation caused his memories to return. When Spider-Man gets pinned down by Kraven, Adrian and a cured Rhino saved him by pushing a steel beam on top of Kraven. They release Spider-Man from Kraven's net and Adrian expresses his gratitude to him, but was shortly knocked out by Ock. After Ock's defeat, Adrian enrolls in S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy alongside Rhino, Harry, Mary Jane Watson, and Frances Beck to learn how to become a superhero under Scarlet Spider and Agent Venom's tutelage and Spider-Man's supervision. Physical appearance In his human form, Adrian has a gothic appearance with pale skin, short, black hair with long bangs and green eyes. A single lock of hair falls between his eyes, and he has visible bags under his eyes. He wears black lipstick and black nail polish on his fingernails and toenails. Adrian wears a light, form-fitting, shoulder-length, and thigh-length black body armor that accents his lean yet fit slender build and provides maneuverability when flying. Adrian is always barefooted, allowing his talons to emerge without restriction whenever he transforms. In his vulture form, Adrian grows dark green feathers and his eyes are widened, turning entirely red with small black pupils. In addition, Adrian's hair and body armor also turns green, albeit a lighter shade of green, with his feathers peaking out from his neck region to give a collar-like plumage ruffle, and his neck is elongated with notable striations. Adrian's skin takes on a leathery appearance, his nose morphs into a curved, red-tipped beak, and he gains small sharp teeth. His hands turn to three-figured, red-tipped talons and his feet forms into red-tipped talons with two in the front and one talon at his heel. The full-body Hydra armor Ock made for Adrian resembles his vulture form, with talon-shaped hands and feet and a vulture-theme helmet. On the back, there is a jet-pack module on the back which houses large metallic, collapsible wings. Connected to the jet-pack is a large bulbous "yoke" (colored as white in an early concept art) that surrounds the shoulder area and sports a red Hydra symbol in its center. The armor is originally colored green, as an allusion the the Vulture's classic green costume from the comic books. When Ock used the nanites to override Vulture's armor, the armor changes its color from green to black-and-red.Character Designer for USM, Jerome. K. Moore, Explains Vulture's Hydra Armor Personality Due to his amnesia, Adrian possesses strong need to discover his past, and his confusion of who he is causes a great deal of pain and anxiety within him. As a result of his tragic circumstances, Adrian is rather pessimistic, and has a tendency to speak in a dreary, poetic manner. In his search for his memories, Adrian is determined to do whatever it takes to obtain them, even if it goes against his moral code, committing criminal acts or using violence against anyone that stands in his way. Adrian's identity crisis makes him short-tempered and ferocious in trying to acquire any information about his past. His desire to find his family and understand his past makes him vulnerable to the manipulations of others, such as Ock and Taskmaster when they blackmailed him into doing their bidding in return for information about himself. He has a strong hatred towards Ock for experimenting on him and erasing his memories, but is willing to obey him when Ock promises to help him retrieve his memories. Despite his misguided ways, Adrian is a good-hearted and compassionate person, choosing not to kill Ock after his personal files were deleted (secretly by Taskmaster) and guiding Spider-Man and Iron Spider to Sandman's location in order to save him from Ock's control. He has a strong will, as he struggled to overcome Ock's mental programming and his nanites' mind control, though latter is much harder to fight against. Although Adrian is usually serious and blunt, often shrugging off Spider-Man's wisecracks and handling conversations stoically, he exhibits a dry wit on a few occasions. Relationships Doctor Octopus Sometime in the past, Adrian volunteered to be part Doctor Octopus's "scientific studies" for money, remaining unaware that he was actually being used as a test subject of Ock's animal DNA experiments and had his memories erased in order to install mental programming into him. As a result, Adrian greatly despises Ock. If not for Spider-Man's influence, Adrian would have killed Ock when he discovered that his data files were destroyed. Adrian exacts his revenge on the latter during their second encounter, declaring that they were "even" after damaging Ock's getaway Quinjet. Likewise, Ock sees Adrian as a successful test subject and his personal weapon rather than a real person, often demeaning him with cruel remarks and mockery. Knowing Adrian is desperate to get his memories back, Ock constantly manipulates him into doing his bidding with the false promises of helping him in exchange. Despite the fact that Adrian is mistrustful of Ock, he considers Ock his only chance to learn of his past and reluctantly allies himself with him. Since Adrian shows a lot of potential, Ock mind-controlled Adrian to be part of his Sinister Six until Spider-Man later frees him. Spider-Man Even before meeting him, Spider-Man never considered Adrian to be villain, as he never hurt anyone and was only stealing from other criminals during his nightly heists. When he finally meets Adrian face-to-face, their relationship had a rocky start, as Spider-Man was ordered to capture him by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Adrian's bouts of anxiety made him attack Spider-Man. After Spider-Man learns of his amnesia and that he is one of Ock's victims, Spider-Man treats him with sympathy and patience, realizing that Adrian is a good person who is simply burdened by his personal troubles, thus earning Adrian's trust. However, Adrian's anxiety, stubbornness, and tendency to resort to violence makes it hard for Spider-Man to reason with him. Despite going against Nick Fury's orders, Spider-Man helps him by taking to Ock for answers. When Adrian's mental programming took over, Spider-Man's words help him overcome it and influences him not to kill Ock by appealing to his moral compass. In return, Adrian becomes comfortable in confiding his worries to Spider-Man and appreciates his guidance and kindness. When he politely declines Spider-Man's offer to join the New Warriors, the latter respects his decisions and gives him a S.H.I.E.L.D. card in case Adrian changed his mind. Although Adrian's wayward nature repeatedly causes him to clash against Spider-Man later on, Spider-Man does not condemn him for his actions and still considers him as a friend. He lets Adrian escape when he and the Thunderbolts stormed the Tricarrier and constantly tries to convince Adrian to accept his assistance. After Adrian is mind-controlled by Ock, one of Adrian's last acts of free will is to warn Spider-Man a spy in S.H.I.E.L.D. and seems to still recognize him enough to take him to Sandman's location so he can rescue him from Ock. Likewise, Spider-Man takes great pains to be gentle with Adrian and ensure that his friends does not unnecessarily hurt more than they have to, emphasizing that Adrian is not in control of himself. Spider-Man keeps his promise to help Adrian by curing his mutation and liberating him from Ock's control. When Adrian regains his memories of his past, he returns Spider-Man's long-standing loyalty by saving him from Kraven alongside the cured Rhino. Adrian thanks Spider-Man for everything he done for him and said that Spider-Man has always been his favorite superhero. Inspired by his heroics, Adrian later enrolls in S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy under Super-Man's supervision. Abilities and Powers *'Vulture Physiology': After being experimented by Doctor Octopus for his animal experiments, Adrian gains a human-vulture hybrid anatomy with a beak, talon-like hands and feet, and organic wings and other superhuman abilities. Unlike Ock's other animal experiments' victims (Curt Connors, Rhino, and Michael Morbius), Adrian is the most successful subject as he is able to retain his human form and intelligence. **'Willful Transformation': Adrian demonstrates the ability to change from his human and vulture forms at will. Adrian is capable of controlling how fully he turns into his vulture state, showing a sort of mid-transformation and can keep his head in its human form for while his body maintains its vulture form His transformation is also ties with his emotional state, as when his bouts of anxiety would cause a more animalistic side and his vulture form to emerge. **'Enhanced Vision': Vulture's eyesight is greatly enhanced, allowing him to navigate effortlessly in dark environments. However, his keen eyesight is also a weakness, as Spider-Man is able to temporarily blind Vulture by using the latter's sharp vision to his advantage. **'Flight': Adrian greatest asset are his organic wings that gives him the ability to fly at high speeds and perform flight maneuvers. When not using his wings, Adrian's wings can fold them against his forearms. **'Talons': Adrian possesses razor-sharp talons on his hands and feet, and are often his most used weapons in combat. When flying, Adrian primarily uses his feet talons to attack since he is unable to use his hands. They are strong enough to pierce metal and concrete, and their sharpness makes Spider-Man's webbing inefficient against him. **'Sonic Screech': He is able to emitted a high-pitch, powerful sonic shriek loud enough to be able to render Agent Venom unconscious. The shockwaves the his screech produces is powerful enough to damage concrete, propel humans and debris, short out machines, and destroy small missiles. **'Superhuman Strength': He has shown an incredible amount of strength, being able to punch through concrete pillars with ease and carry full-grown men like Ock with one hand. His lower-body is strength is equally impressive as Adrian typically uses his feet talons to carry passengers when flying. **'Superhuman Durability': He possess superhuman durability, being able to withstands crashing into concrete structures, glass windows, or buildings without sustaining dire injuries. *'Mental programming': When being experimented by Doc Ock, Adrian's mind undergoes a memory wiped to install mental programming. By saying the code word "Carrion Feeder", Adrian's mental programming activates and places him under the control of the person that said it. Through sheer will, Adrian is able to overcome his programming. Equipment * '''Vulture Armor': In the fourth season, Vulture utilizes a high-tech suit of Hydra armor manufactured by Ock, specifically created to combat Norman Osborn's Iron Patriot armor. The armor is designed to further enhance his physical performance. **'Wing Harness': The armor has its own set of collapsible, bladed wings that emerge from slots in the jet-pack Vulture wears on his back. The wings primarily function as flight stabilizers, aiding in direction and braking, improving Adrian's agility and flight acceleration. The large wings aid in offense attacks and acts as a defensive shield. **'Enhanced Strength': The armor enhances Vulture's superhuman strength to a higher degree, enough to combat Norman Osborn's Iron Patriot armor, Kid Arachnid, and Spider-Man at the same time. The metal talons allows him to tear through thick metal objects like the Iron Patriot armor. **'Enhanced Durability': The armor provides Vulture with more bodily protection and allows him to withstand greater physical damage, remaining uninjured by heavy, falling debris and can withstand energy blasts or ballistic attacks. **'Enhanced Mobility': The armor enhances his physical movements, enabling him to have a better combat performance than before. Since the armor as its own set of metallic wings, Vulture is able to fight with his arms while in flight, though he still favors his feet. The helmet is equipped with scanners that helps direct his attacks and is able to detect Kid Arachnid in his camouflage state. Appearances Season 3 *"The Vulture" *"New Warriors" *"Contest of Champions (Part 1)" (cameo) Season 4 *"Iron Vulture" *"Beached" (no lines) *"Graduation Day - Part 1" (no lines) *"Graduation Day - Part 2" Trivia *Vulture's incarnation in the Ultimate Spider-Man series is an amalgam of his comic book counterpart and the fifth Vulture, Jimmy Natale. While the series' version of Vulture possesses his comic book counterpart's name and green color scheme, he shares Natale's condition of being a mutated human. However, unlike his comic book incarnations, Vulture is portrayed as a tragic villain rather than a malicious antagonist. *Vulture is depicted as a young teenager for the first time in the Ultimate Spider-Man series, as opposed to being portrayed as an elderly man like in other media. **Ironically, his comic book counterpart's original appearance is shown via Spider-Man's imagination sequences in the television show, as well as in the series' spin-off comics. References de:Vulture Category:Characters